Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images

donald-trump

Of all the tidbits in Bob Woodward’s shocking new exposé on the Trump White House, there’s this eyebrow-raiser on page 174:DonaldandMelania Trumpsincerely like each other.

“West Wingers and those who traveled regularly with Trump noticed that he and Melania seemed to have some sincere affection for each other despite media speculation,” Woodward writes inFear. “But she operated independently.”

While such shows of affection aren’t exactly unusual for a married couple, the detail may come as a surprise to some considering the obstacles the Trumps have faced.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-EASTER EGG ROLL

But Woodward’s book, which is based on hundreds of “deep background” interviews with top Trump aides and “firsthand sources,” paints a slightly warmer — though still problematic — picture of the first couple’s marriage.

“They ate dinner together at times, spent some time together,” he writes, “but they never really seemed to merge their lives.”

He adds, “Melania’s primary concern was their son, Barron.”

” ‘She’s obsessed with Barron,’ ” one source reportedly told the author of the first lady, 48. ” ‘That is her focus 100 percent.’ ”

The first lady’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

President Trump hasn’t directly addressed specifics in the book, but he has waged a full-out war onFear,which portrays him as an erratic, vengeful leader whose aides are so fearful of his impulsiveness that they’ve allegedlystolen paperwork off of his deskto “protect the country.” (Top aides Rob Porter and Gary Cohn havecontested this detail and their portrayal in the book, according to CNN.com.)

PEOPLE Writer Natasha Stoynoff, Who Accused Donald Trump Of Sexual Harassment, Opens Up On Matt Lauer Accusations

Trump has said that “the book means nothing” and that Woodward “likes to get publicity, sell some books.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sandersreleased a statement earlier this monthdenying the claims made in Woodward’s book.

InFear,fired White House chief strategistSteve Bannonhad his own shocking way of summing up Trump as a father and husband.

Fearison sale now.

source: people.com